Nasa UFO team says over 800 'incidents' investigated

A televised meeting of a panel set up by Nasa has come to an end, after telling us their report into sightings of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) will be published in July. Here's a look at some of the key takeaways.

Stigma: We were told there's widespread public interest in the subject but researchers believe UAPs are under-reported due to the stigma attached to them. On that note, Dr Nicola Fox spoke of the online abuse scientists studying the topic face, which she said was "disheartening".

Visualise: The graph below showed us the trends in sightings of UAPs, defined by Nasa as "observations of events in the sky that cannot be identified as aircraft or known natural phenomena from a scientific perspective".

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Needle in a haystack: The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) has collected "about 800 [UAP sighting] events over about 27 years", science journalist Nadia Drake told the meeting, adding the issue was like trying to find "a very slender needle in a very big haystack".

Life beyond Earth: Planetary scientist David Grinspoon explained how sightings of anomalous events, such as "anomalous gases", could well prove there are signs of life beyond what is currently known - highlighting their importance.

UFO vs Bart Simpson: There was also conversation around the importance of scientists debunking potential UFO sightings - as well as proving them. Scott Kelly, a former astronaut and pilot, recalled flying near Virginia Beach on one occasion when a colleague became "convinced we flew by a UFO".

"I didn't see it. We turned around, we went to look at it, it turns out it was Bart Simpson. A balloon," he said.

The Nasa team has announced their report on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) will be published in July.

The panel is being asked what they think should be done if they find out there are extra-terrestrial beings. "Has that been discussed by the panel as a group?"

David Grinspoon from Nasa says it's not in their remit, but if they did discover aliens they would "share what we find."

Nasa is now holding a media conference about its research into unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs).

We'll be hearing from Nasa's Dan Evans and David Spergel again.

We'll update you if anything new comes up.

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After decades of stigma that saw unidentified anomalous phenomena – or UFOs as they are more commonly known – frequently dismissed from sensible scientific discussion, it is clear from this meeting that Nasa now wants to take the subject seriously.

It reflects an ongoing shift within the wider scientific community regarding the willingness to talk openly and honestly about the potential for extra-terrestrial life out there in the Universe.

Many scientists often avoided being drawn into such discussions. But it is now largely accepted that alien life probably does exist somewhere out there.

Data beamed back from other worlds within our solar system have revealed they have environments that could well be capable of supporting primitive life, such as within the icy oceans of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn.

Organic compounds that could form the building blocks of life have been found on asteroids and comets. There is even evidence that our nearest planetary neighbour, Mars, could once have supported life (although the hard evidence that life did once exist there has yet to be found).

Though there are plenty of intriguing phenomena to look into, it’s possible that many are being missed altogether.

There are currently some substantial limitations on what scientists can spot with the tools available to them - particularly in terms of size.

As Avi Loeb, an astrophysicist in charge of a systematic scientific search for evidence of extra-terrestrial artefacts - explained to BBC Future earlier today, within the orbit of the Earth around the Sun, astronomers are capable of spotting objects around 100-200m (328-656ft) across, or roughly the size of a football field.

Anything smaller could slip through the space around our planet totally unnoticed.

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"We need better data," is Spergel's conclusion to the public meeting as it draws to a close.

Throughout the day we heard from experts from across the field of astronomy and astrobiology.

The team studying UAPs will host a news conference in 30 minutes.

Stay with us.

David Spergel, chair of the Nasa team studying UAPs, is responding to a question on whether Nasa has encountered any aliens - or extra-terrestrial life - and what happens to the public if they encounter any.

Spergel says that one of Nasa's big questions is: "Is there life out there?".

"We now know that there are lots of planets out there, so there are lots of potential environments for life," and Nasa is trying to address in many different ways whether any of the planets out there host life.

"We haven't found life beyond Earth yet, but we're looking".

Dan Evans from the Nasa team is asked how much money is being allocated to the study of UAPs.

Evans declines to answer the question, simply saying federal budgeting is a "complex process".

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The panel is taking questions which have been sent in by the public. The first few are read out by Karen Fox from the Nasa communications team:

"What is Nasa hiding ? How much has been shared publicly ? Has Nasa ever cut the live Nasa TV feeds away from something? Has Nasa released all UAP evidence it has ever received ?"

The panel is also asked if Nasa astronauts have to sign non-disclosure agreements and if they are allowed to speak freely about UAP sightings.

Dan Evans from Nasa replies that the agency is committed to transparency and honesty. "That is why we are here live on TV today," he adds.

Karlin Toner talks about the stigmatisation surrounding the study of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs).

She says the fact that Nasa called the panel to discuss this openly with the public, and all experts in the room are committed to being transparent is "the first step in trying to normalise the study of UAPs".

Toner says Nasa's decision to look at UAPs opens up possibilities to analyse all types of anomalous phenomena, which is a more inclusive approach.

A question is asked by a panellist now, who's wondering whether social media can be used to help identify these so-called "events" where UAPs are spotted.

He says it's frustrating when you want to find such happenings but can't and uses the example of Google searches being able to help users identify where "disease outbreaks are taking place".

He asks whether the same could be done for these space events, using "real-time capabilities".

Another panellist cuts in, saying the software being used to identify UAPs does in fact use algorithms like those being discussed to spot anomalous events.

We've just been hearing from experts looking at UAPs. The panel is now taking questions from members of the public.

You can watch it live by clicking the play button at the top of our page.

Scott Kelly, former astronaut and pilot, is now addressing the panel. He explains that he has a lot of experience flying, for over 15,000 hours during 30 years - both in airplanes and in space.

"The environment that we fly in, space or atmosphere flying, is very very conducive to optical illusions," he explains.

Kelly recalls flying near Virginia Beach and one of his colleagues "was convinced we flew by a UFO".

"I didn't see it. We turned around, we went to look at it, it turns out it was Bart Simpson. A balloon."

We've just heard from Joshua Semeter, of the Center for Space Physics, who's taking colleagues and the media through a video to explain "the crucial role of science and scientific analysis" in spotting UAPs.

"And the role of scientific analysis to avoid misinterpretation," he adds.

The video (as seen below) was filmed, Semeter says, by US Navy officers and appears to show an object moving "very fast" against the current of the ocean.

In fact, he says, analysis of all the available information shows the object was moving at about 40mph.

"It's not our task to conjecture what this object is but it's an example that illustrates the type of data needed to determine critical parameters that'll help us identify such objects going forward," he tells the room.

Grinspoon says the same rationale that supports the idea that extra terrestrial civilisations may exist - largely based on what's known about the vast numbers of exoplanets and timescales of evolutions, "also supports the idea that finding extra terrestrial artefacts in our own solar system is at least plausible".

He says Nasa could use its technology to search for objects in space with anomalous motion, anomalous trajectory, unusual light curves and other characteristics.

"The galaxy does not stop at the edge of the solar system, and the solar system does not stop at the top of the Earth's atmosphere".

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Up next is planetary scientist David Grinspoon, who says he's here to explain how "observations beyond Earth" are relevant to the panel's study on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP).

Many of Nasa's missions are focused on whether or not life exists beyond Earth, he says, adding that applies here.

Sightings of anomalous events, such as "anomalous gases", could well prove there are signs of life beyond what is currently known, Grinspoon says.

But when scientists discover such an anomaly, "we don't conclude we've discovered life", he says. "We seek more data."

And that's what this upcoming report and work is all about, Grinspoon says.

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Some people are hoping this is the moment Nasa says, “yes, there are aliens.” But the agency has made it clear there is no evidence extra-terrestrials exist.

In fact before it announced this report, it spent decades debunking UFO sightings. That change of approach is what makes this briefing a big deal.

Nasa appointed leading academics to identify data that scientists could use to study UAPs. In funding the project and briefing the public today, the agency is showing the issue is no longer such a taboo for them.

But remember, a cornerstone of science is you don’t rule anything out until you’re 100% sure.

Scientific discovery relies on asking questions and finding irrefutable evidence. We haven’t unlocked all the secrets of the skies - there's still a lot we don’t know.

So, while there are unexplained phenomena out there, many scientists will say we should be looking for answers.

But the likelihood is that the vast majority, if not all, of these UAPs can be put down to meteorological activity, plasma (superheated matter that can glow) or something entirely different that we don’t quite understand yet.

The panel was asked about Nasa's definition of the word anomalous, and how it can be a bit confusing.

Drake weighs in, saying that for Nasa's purposes it needs to "come up with a slightly more specific definition of what 'anomalous' actually means".